A problem with known handheld electronic devices is providing a device which is small enough to be carried about by a user, while being large enough to incorporate essential features of the device for operation.
Another problem with known handheld electronic devices is that they have become so small that they are difficult to hold, manipulate and operate. In particular, they are difficult to both hold and operate at the same time.
Another problem with known handheld electronic devices is that of operating buttons on the device by accident while carrying the device around. The device may also be damaged while being carried around. For example, a screen of the device may be scratched or broken.
A further problem more specific to mobile phone devices is that they have become so small that in use they no longer cover the mouth and ear of the user at the same time. That is, ear-mouth coverage is poor due to the smaller size of modern devices. This can lead to poor sound quality for both caller and recipient. Furthermore, there is a reduction in the degree of privacy in that a user's mouth is not obscured by the phone while talking. Small handsets may also provide an uncomfortable grip. With small phones the user has to hold his/her arm higher in order to hold the phone to his/her ear which can be strenuous and uncomfortable.
Known mechanical solutions to the above-described problems include the implementation of a slide design, a rotational design or a flip/clamshell/fold design. These solutions allow for the handheld electronic device to be carried around in a configuration which is small in size when not in use. Furthermore, buttons/keys on the device may be covered by at least a portion of the casing when in this configuration so as to prevent accidental operation. The handheld electronic device may then by reconfigured into an operational configuration which is generally larger in size and better shaped to allow a user to both hold and operate the device.
The above-identified solutions comprise a body with at least two parts and a hinge (or other similar mechanical mechanism) therebetween whereby in use the device can be moved from a compact configuration to an expanded configuration. In the compact configuration the device is small and compact so as to be easy to carry. In the expanded configuration, the device is arranged so as to be easy to hold and operate at the same time.
Known arrangements in the field of mobile phones include a foldable clam structure, a slidable structure and more recently a rotatable two-part structure. Each of these known solutions is limited in the number of stable configurations the two parts of the device can take. In fact, the aforementioned solutions effectively only have two configurations, a closed configuration and an open configuration.
More recently still multi-axis hinges have been proposed. U.S. Pat. No. 6,549,789 discloses a handheld electronic device comprising, a housing including a first housing portion and a second housing portion, the first housing portion containing at least two user interfaces and the second user interface including at least one user interface, the two housing portions being coupled by a swivel hinge that allows the two housing portions to rotate about a first axis such as the housing fold together, and a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, allowing the housings to rotate relative to one another. The user can adapt the housing by rotating either of the two housing portions to the position associated with the desired operation mode.
A further problem with arrangements which comprise two parts with a hinge therebetween, is how to electrically connect the two parts so as to provide a compact hinge arrangement which allows relative movement of the two parts without breaking or damaging the electrical interconnection between the two parts.
Previously, the above problem has been solved by using large-shaft-axis hinges, these having been custom designed to suit particular applications. The electrical interconnections are made by winding the wires and/or flexes around the shafts on the final assembly line which is not production friendly. Furthermore, as each hinge is custom designed to suit a particular application, this approach is expensive and time consuming. Each new hinge design has to be extensively tested.
One arrangement is described in WO97/23936. WO97/23936 discloses a device comprising a base part, a pivoting part and a hinge structure comprising a first pair of hinges and a second pair of hinges, the hinge structure being used to pivotally mount the pivoting part on the base part, and electrical connection means between the base part and the pivoting part, whereby a connecting piece is provided between the first pair of hinges and the second pair of hinges, the electric connection means having been taken through the connecting piece and the connecting piece being mounted to partly pivot along with the pivoting part, the swinging angle of the connecting piece being smaller than the swinging angle of the hinge. This arrangement is bulky, custom designed, and only allows rotation around one axis.